Sleigh.



D. S. HALL.

SLEIGH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9,.1908.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE-NORRIS PETERS CO PHOWLITHQ, WASHINGTQN, D. C.

D. S. HALL.

SLEIGH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. 190a.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' Witness e '9. A/

[HE NORRIS PETERS CO.. PHOTO -LITHO., WASHINGTON. D C

FFlQli.

DEAN S. HALL, OF MARSHFIELID, VERMONT.

SLEIGH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

Application filed March 9, 1908. Serial No. 420,054.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DEAN S. HALL, of Marshfield, in the county ofWashington, and in the State of Vermont, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Sleighs, and do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to laterally shiftable shafts for sleighs orcutters, so that with a one horse sleigh the horse may travel eitherdirectly in front of the sleigh or to one side thereof, which last namedposition is desirable in heavy snows and on country roads traveled bytwo horse teams, so that the one horse can use the track broken by oneof the two of the team, and yet the sleigh follow the tracks previouslymade, and the principal object of my invention is to provide aconstruction, which, when the horse is drawing the sleigh in a positionat one side of the line of travel of the sleigh, will not result in anobjectionable tendency of the sleigh to swing or twist, but on thecontrary will cause it to track properly and draw easily; and will avoidundue lateral projection of the shafts beyond the side of the sleighwhen the horse is traveling on one side of the center of the sleightrack.

Other objects have to do with the details of construction whereby themanipulation of the parts necessary for adjustment is facilitated, theparts are firmly held in their adjusted position and rattling of partsprevented, all as more fully hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a top plan view of anembodiment of my invention in which the shafts are arranged for thehorse to travel in the center of the road; Fig. 2 a like view thereofwhen the shafts are shifted to one side so as to allow the horse totravel in one of the tracks made by a two horse team, while the sleighruns in the track made by the two horse team sleigh; Fig. 8 is a detailview showing an arrangement of parts for use with the buggy style ofshafts; Fig. 4 is a detail plan view illustrating my latching device;Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are views showing the latching device in differentpositions.

Proceeding now with a description in detail of the structures shown inthe draw ings to illustrate my invention, A designates the sleigh shaftsof ordinary construction having at the rear end parallel cross bars Cthe forward one of which supports the swingle tree, while the rearmostone has two rearwardly projecting loops or eyes L, one at the extremeside of the shafts and the other a short distance beyond the transversecenter thereof through which eyes pass, an are shaped or curved rod Rwhich extends from side to side of the sleigh at the front thereof whereit is attached to the sleigh runners, the eyes and rod forming thecustomary hinged connection between the shafts and the sleigh to allowfor the vertical swinging of the shafts. The center of the arc ofcurvature of the rod R is rearward of the front of the sleigh, so thatthe rod arches or bows forward and paralleling the rod R is a cross barC from which forwardly project eyes L through which the curved rod Rpasses. The loop or eye L that is toward the center of the shafts A isshorter than the loop or eye that is at the side thereof, the two eyesbeing so proportioned that the shafts A will extend straight aheadwhen'the line of draft is to be parallel with the line of travel and thehorse is to go in a path midway between the two runners. WVhen it isdesired to have the horse travel a path to one side of a line midwaybetween the two sleigh runners, the shafts are shifted laterally to theposition shown in Fig. 2, from which it will be seen that due to thecurvature of the rod R the line of draft instead of being parallel withthe tracks in which the sleigh is to run, or the line of travel isoblique thereto, and that by reason of said curvature the rear or heelportions of the shafts have a certain desired position and the forwardguiding portions of the shafts project a different distance beyond theside of the sleigh than would be the case were the rod R straight and atright angles to the line of travel, and it is important to diminish theprojection of the heel of the shaft as much as possible to avoidcollision with other passing vehicles or objects.

To latch or look the shafts at the desired point of adjustment, I use alatch pivoted upon one of the loops L on the rear cross bar G which hasdiametrically opposite lugs that project toward the rod R and have theiredges curved to interlock with the sides of the rod B when the latch isturned to a position parallel with the latter, and

the latch is yieldingly held in engagement with the rod, until turned byits handle, by means of a spring F, which, of course,

holds the parts with sufficient firmness to is prevented. I also provideantirattling springs G, as shown in Fig. 4. V

It is desirable for various reasons, such, for example, as the differingsizes of horses to alter the side adjustment of the shafts, and Ireadily accomplish this by varying the curve of the cross bar 0 and therod R, which may conveniently be done by attaching arod B to the rear ofthe cross bar G which thence extends through a beam of the sleigh orthrough an eye or loop attached thereto, and which rod'B is threaded toreceive nuts N by the manipulation of which the curvature of the bars Cand rod R may be changed, said bar and rod having sufficient flexibilityto enable this to be done. The spring nature of the rod R and itscurvature, tends to prevent rattling of the rod by reason of the tensionproduced by the spring nature of the rod.

As shown in Fig. 3, my invention is adapted for use with the ordinarybuggy style of shafts which have but the one cross bar toward their endswhich carries the swingle tree, the rear end of the shafts beingprovided with simple eyes S for the usual shaft coupling. In the caseshown, there are two curved bars C and C flat or square in crosssection, the bar C being rigidly attached to the front of the sleigh andhaving slides or straps O riveted or bolted thereto through which thebar C passes.

What I claim is 1 1. In combination,a sleigh, a shaft structure, a meansslidably connecting the shaft structure to the forward end of the bodysaidmeans embodying a forwardly curved guide bar extending transverselyof the vehicle, whereby the shaft structure may be adjusted toa positionin line with the travel of the vehicle or to a position oblique thereto,for the purpose set forth. 7

2. In combination, a sleigh structure, a

shaft structure, and means connecting the shaft structure to the sleighstructure,

whereby the ,shaft structure may be ad justed centrally in line with theline of Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing, the Commissioner of Patents,

travel or slid to one side to a position oblique to the line of travel,saidmeans embodying a rod or'bar extending transversely of the vehicleand devices for rigidly attaching it to one of the structures and meansfor slidingly connecting the other structure to 'the rod or bar, for thepurpose'set forth.

a position oblique to the line of travel, said means embodying a rod orbar extending transversely of the vehicle and devices for rigidlyattaching it to one of said elements and means for slidingly connectingthe other of said elements to the rod or bar, for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination, a sleigh carrying at its forward end a transverseguide rod curved forwardly and adapted to be flexed to have itscurvature changed, and means on the sleigh for varying the curvature ofthe bar and holding it at the degree the curvature is adjusted to, and ashaft structure slidingly connected to said rod. I

5. In combination with asleigh having a curved bar mounted at itsforward end and adapted to be flexedslightly, a guide, rod

curving forwardly and mounted on the front side of said bar, meansconnecting said curved bar and the slelgh and adapted to flex the barand the rod carried thereby, and

a shaft structure slidingly connected to said rod.

6. In combination a sleigh, a shaft structure, means for connecting thesame together embodying a transverse forwardly curved rod and eyes orloops mounted on the shaft structure and the sleigh, one set of saideyes or loops being adapted to slide on said rod, and'a latch mounted onone of said eyes or loops and adapted to rotate vertically and providedwith a pair of lugs one at either side of-the eye, for the purpose setforth. a

DEAN s. HALL.

Witnesses: v

FRITZ W. JACKSON, EUGENE A. PRINDLE.

Washington, D. 0.,

